Jury Duty

[melbel]

I got called for next week. My doctor wrote a note to get me excused and that has always worked, but this time they wouldn't accept it. I'm so nervous that I will be called. How do I get out of it?

[dyno]

I am really surprised that they didn't accept it. I would take that note and print out material from here to take with you if called. I would also contact your Dr. again and ask him how to handle this since they won't let you out of it.

Certainly if called if you are up and down all the time to go to the bathroom they would excuse you then.

[GriffsMommy]

I agree with Dyno, take some info about IC along with the dr's note. I have read from other members that they give people a chance to go up to the judge and tell them why they think they would not be a good juror. If you are honest and tell them how many times you will need acess to the bathroom that should be enough for you to get out of it. I can't imagine they would want to have a trial that has to stop upped to several times an hour so that one juror can go to the bathroom. Honestly though, so many people get called and don't even get picked anyway. My husband had to go down to the courthouse for several days but he was never picked. He had tried to submit a note that at the time he was a stay at home dad and had no one to watch our son. They were really ****** about it and when they found out we had older kids they told him they would call him again over the summer when the teenagers would be home to watch the toddler and they did. It was a pain for him to go down there those couple of days but he pretty much just sat there bored out of his mind and then was finally released and sent home without ever being picked.

[melbel]

Thank you both for your responses. The doctor wrote on the required form which was sent to them initially. I will definitely print out some information though. This makes me so mad though. The worst part is the drive downtown which is REALLY far away. I panic every time I have to make the drive.

[hoping4acure]

I was just on a case for 5 days. I'm in remisssion, so it wasn't a problem for me although, they had 2 bathrooms in the "jury room" and anothers though out the court house. what you could do is when the judge calls you up, tell him you are physically not able to serve because of your condition. He should excuse you.

Good luck.

[Claredale]

I wasn't excused either where I live. I didn't even try with the doctor's note because when I went for my dates, and was listening to the other people talk to the judge, I knew I wouldn't be excused. Unless you had a illness that required medical care (besides meds) I had freq/urg with pain, but was tolerable with pain meds. I could do most anything while on pain meds. The sheriff deputy said that we would be excused for breaks. I ended up never leaving the "jury pool" that time and just read and worked on cross stitch. I also got to leave by 3:00 everyday since I wasn't called by then. Going downtown wasn't so great, but I found it interesting to be around people other than working all day. It was when our jury obligations were 2 weeks, but I only had to go a week and a half, since Thanksgiving was in that time frame. When I was called again 10 years later, I had my interstim and given a note from my doctor. I wasn't released again, but I didn't push it. It was just for a week and I knew if it would happen to be a hard case, I would be released by the judge or lawyers when they did their questioning in the jury room and then would be able to go home. That was how our jury worked the 2nd time I was called. It ended up different than I ever thought, I was in the first group from the pool called and was actually put on the jury. I couldn't beleive it since I was a claims adjuster and the case was a vehicle accident. It only lasted a few hours and was over. We got to have the breaks we needed, which by then I could make it 2 hours at least. Even the jury chairs were comfortable, much more comfortable than being in the "pool" room.

When I worked in risk management, I was called many times on workers' comp cases and had to sit there, and be still and not talk. That was much worse than jury duty and it was my job. We had to sit there during the other cases and wait our turn.

Look at it as an adventure if you can. Even when my IC was severe with freq/urg every 15 minutes and on pain meds I would like to stay busy and keep my mind on other things.

T83

[gtg728]

Same thing happened to me last year,I knew I could not sit thru 10 mins of court on certain days much less hours from a jury box. My uro wrote a letter, I printed IC info off the ICN and ICA sites to explain the disease and the impact on one's capability or inability to sit thru a trial. I also called the clerk of court's office and spoke to a female who I educated on our condition and informed her paperwork on the way. The female I think became an ally and I was released from having to serve. If ever called again I will follow the same procedure. Good luck to you !
Cynthia

[theclownster]

When I was first being diagnosed with IC, I was called for Jury Duty in a pretty big courthouse in Detroit. Needless to say, I was quite anxious about it because I had to pee every 10-15 minutes or less. When I was called to the court room they then pooled everyone in that court randomly up to the jury box. The potential jury was then asked a series of questions with one of them being: Can you sit through an average american movie for about 1 and 1/2 hours? Well of course my answer would be no. For people who answered no, they would ask for an explanation and then requested verification (Dr.'s note etc.) The judge wasn't the nicest person, but I don't think anyone would have had a problem with the proper documentation. Please keep us posted and let us know how it goes.

Good luck,
Jennifer

[ICNDonna]

I suggest you get a note from your doctor stating that you will need to be excused as frequently as needed for bathroom breaks --- and if sitting is a problem, that should be included as well.

Donna

[mary124]

The few times that I have been called for Jury Duty, I was able to talk to the Judge about my illness and he said to me " that this sounded very painful and you would probably be uncomfortable sitting all day". He then excused me but told me that the next time if I should be called to get a note from the doctor and have them mail it in -- within a couple of years I was called again so I did what the Judge suggested and since then I haven't been called back- that has been over 10 years ago.

[JenAZ07]

Funny that you all are talking about jury duty…I just found out last week that I am second chairing a trial with my boss (I am a lawyer) in July and it scares me to think of how long I am going to have to hold it between restroom breaks. I can usually make it 1-1.5 hours, so hopefully we will get a couple of restroom breaks per session – morning and afternoon. I know that the Court’s ask in advance if anyone has any disabilities or special accommodations, but I am not sure my potty issues count as disabilities or require special accommodations – or that my boss will acknowledge that this may be a problem. I really don’t want it to be a huge issue—since I really need the trial experience to advance in my position and pay—and I am worried that if I bring it up he will take me off these cases if I bring it up. I just need a good 10 min. break every 1.5. :smile tee Hopefully I will go into remission before then and it won’t be a problem.